Why is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on a Saturday?

20 drivers were also introduced to the Vegas crowd on Wednesday night as part of the opening ceremony, but it didn’t go down well with everyone. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen said he felt like a “funny man” as the drivers were promoted to the grandstands in the pit, adding that it was “99% show, 1% sporting event.”

Vegas goes against the grain, and that can be seen in the show. All 2023 grand prix weekends take place from Friday to Sunday, but not Vegas. The follow-up season starts on Thursday with the race on Saturday night, but why did F1 change its schedule for the Las Vegas GP?

Why is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday?

It’s a bid to get as many global viewers as possible because of Vegas’ time zone. The city, located in the western US state of Nevada, is eight hours behind the UK and 9 behind central Europe.

If F1 kept the traditional schedule with a 10pm Sunday race start time, it would be a Monday morning in Europe when most citizens go to work and the smaller audience size would not be ideal. This way, by planning everything 24 hours in advance, more people should get a chance to watch.

But the argument for avoiding that early start in Europe is to host the race in the afternoon until 8 pm in the UK, yet the Las Vegas GP has always been a night race.

F1 wanted it to be held at the start of the city when the famous skylights are lit for the main event with cars racing down the iconic Strip. And if you were to catch it just a few hours earlier, then it’s midnight in Europe which means a lot of people would have watched it all at peak time.

This is one event that F1 has been building towards for a very long time, and the weekend needs as many spectators as possible. CEO Stefano Domenicali said last year that the series had to change and for the first time make watching the Las Vegas GP work for everyone.

A full schedule of the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Thursday 16 November/Friday 17 November
Las Vegas GP Free Practice 1: 8:30 pm local time, 4:30 am GMT
Las Vegas GP Free Practice 2: 12 am local time, 8 am GMT

Friday 17 November/Saturday 18 November
Las Vegas GP Free Practice 3: 8:30 pm local time, 4:30 am GMT
Qualifying for the Las Vegas GP: 12am local time, 8 am GMT

Saturday 18 November/Sunday 19 November
Las Vegas GP: 10 pm local time, 6 am GMT

Is the Las Vegas Grand Prix the first F1 race not held on a Sunday?

In short, no. Vegas will be the 74th race of the F1 world championship that will not be held on a Sunday as each day of the week hosts one.

It started with the 1950 British GP Saturday, and the race continued to be held on a Saturday every year until 1975. Back then, it was common for world championship races to be held on Sunday, especially when the Indianapolis 500 officially became part of the championship between 1950 and 1960.

Traditionally the Indy 500 was on May 30th, regardless of the day of the week, but if that happened to be a Sunday the cars would race around the Brickyard the next day. This meant that the Indy 500 often took place on a different day each season, including a Tuesday in 1950, before being held on every other day in subsequent years.

As the seasons went on, however, it became customary for the F1 grands prix to be held on Sundays. Vegas will be the first to not be held on that day since the 1985 South African GP, ​​which was held on a Saturday, another race that used to alternate dates. In 1968, for example, it was even held on New Year’s Day which was a Monday.

Meanwhile, although it is the first Las Vegas GP F1 that has visited the city before, the event was held under a different name. The Caesars Palace GPs took place in 1981 and 1982 which were also on Saturdays.

The introduction of sprint races in 2021 has added further difficulties, especially when it comes to competition. In 2023, Verstappen clinched his third world drivers’ title after Saturday’s Qatar GP, making him the first driver to win the title on a non-Sunday since Nelson Piquet in 1987.

The three-time Brazilian world champion won it after qualifying on Friday in the penalties in Japan, as Nigel Mansell suffered a serious injury that kept him out of action for the rest of the weekend, meaning he will no longer be able to catch his rival Piquet for the top spot.

Although Piquet has won three championships, none were won on Sunday. He won his maiden title (1981) in Vegas on Saturday, while Piquet’s second (1983) came in South Africa also on Saturday.

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The Las Vegas venue was used in 1981 for the Caesars Palace GP

List of F1 World Championship races not held on Sunday

*List does not include running races